Neutrophil-Selective Fluorescent Probe Development through Metabolism-Oriented Live-Cell Distinction

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Cell Biology
• Biomedical Imaging

Background:

• Neutrophils are key innate immune cells, crucial for host defense.
• Studying live neutrophils in situ is vital for understanding inflammation and infection.
• Existing methods lack specific probes for live neutrophil discrimination in human blood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop the first small-molecule fluorescent probe for specific live neutrophil imaging.
• To elucidate the mechanism of selective neutrophil staining.
• To validate the probe's utility in clinical blood sample analysis.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis and characterization of the fluorescent probe NeutropG.
• Investigation of NeutropG's staining mechanism using lipid droplet biogenesis pathways (ACSL, DGAT).
• Application of NeutropG for quantifying neutrophils in fresh human blood samples.

Main Results:

• NeutropG enables specific fluorescent imaging and distinction of active neutrophils.
• The probe's mechanism, termed metabolism-oriented live-cell distinction (MOLD), involves lipid droplet biogenesis.
• NeutropG accurately quantifies neutrophil levels in blood, correlating well with established clinical methods.

Conclusions:

• NeutropG is the first probe for specific live neutrophil imaging, addressing a critical gap in research.
• The MOLD mechanism provides a novel approach for live-cell discrimination based on metabolic activity.
• NeutropG offers a promising tool for in situ neutrophil studies and clinical diagnostics.